A Holiday Consideration

I've been very lax in posting about cooking, of late.  I have been cooking, just not anything very interesting.  December, typically a month where I do a lot of exotic food preparation, has been spent primarily in my studio.  That's what multiple deadlines at the end of December (?) will do for you.
I'm not good without a healthy deadline, so needless to say I've been spending a lot of hours working with fiber of the cloth variety.
I've had a lot of time to think about things that matter to me.  I like to take stock of my life this time of year. I'm sure a lot of people do.  I'm fortunate to have wonderful health, a loving family and wonderful friends.
I have a home.
I have food security.
It absolutely kills me that food security is an issue for a lot of people.  Food insecurity is an issue for 49 million Americans.  Of those, 17 million are children and 5 million are seniors.  Last year over 37 million people accessed a food bank for emergency food assistance.
 A few years ago, my good friend Frances Holliday Alford spent a year working on something she called "The Hunger Project".  She sent blank checks to many of her friends for a set amount and asked us to research our local resources and make a contribution to one we were interested in funding.  I thought this was brilliant:  a perfect way to get others to look into local organizations and educate ourselves about them.  I learned about our local food bank:  the San Antonio Food Bank.  I learned that, for every dollar given, the SA Food Bank can stretch it to the equivalent of $15.  I was impressed!
Every year, rather than exchanging gifts with extended family members, each family unit makes a charitable contribution.  I always give to the local food bank.
I know each of us has a pet project.  Some of us cannot afford to give beyond what we can do for our immediate family members.
I'm really not trying to be preachy (I detest that!):  I'm simply planting a seed of an idea.  I encourage you to look into the possibility of contributing to a local food bank.  They are really good at stretching a food dollar.  Thank you for your consideration.  Have a wonderful holiday season.

I promise to start cooking some interesting food.  Soon!